The Spanish parliament's rejection earlier this month of Catalonia's request for delegated powers to hold a referendum on our country's future came as no surprise. What happened in Madrid was exactly the opposite of what occurred in London when the UK government granted Scotland's request for a referendum without questioning the Scottish people's right to decide, despite its strong desire to keep Scotland within the UK. That is how democracies work.

But Spain's ruling party, the PP, has held to a steady course, of recentralising power to Madrid. It was the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, who referred Catalonia's statute of autonomy to the Spanish constitutional court, which struck down some of its most important provisions; his government has stripped away powers that had been devolved to autonomous governments; his education minister has even spoken of the need to "Hispanicise" Catalan children.

As a result of Spain's recent policies, the desire for a vote on the future of our country – of putting our status to the test of democracy – has developed deep roots among the Catalan people. This is no elite vanity project. More than a million and a half people, a fifth of our population, joined hands from the north to the south of Catalonia last September calling for the right to decide their own future. Opinion polls show that popular support for such a vote has stabilised at around 80%. Almost two-thirds of the members of our parliament supported the request for delegated powers to hold the referendum. Although Madrid has rejected that, we are not disheartened. We will continue to move forward to fulfil the wishes of our people.

We do not seek a flawed Crimea-style vote. We want a legal process by which our people can express their wishes. We were morally obliged to give the institutions of the Spanish state an opportunity to engage with Catalonia's wishes. And although one of the procedural paths to that goal has now been closed off by the Spanish Congress's vote, other options remain.

To be very specific, the Law of Consultations, now being finalised in the Catalan parliament, will establish a legal path to hold a non-binding vote under our Statute of Autonomy, which is also a Spanish law that permits this. That popular consultation will take place on 9 November, asking a two-part question: "Do you want Catalonia to become a state? If so, do you want this state to be independent?"

This date and question have the support of six different political parties represented in parliament. If Madrid has an alternative proposition to put to our people, we will of course ensure that it is also included on the ballot paper. This process will be legal, transparent and democratic.

In a modern democracy there really should be no problem with having an open discussion of all options, which concludes by actually asking our people what future they want for our country. The UK has shown how these questions can be addressed, devolving the powers to allow Scotland to hold its September referendum on independence, the option that Madrid has rejected for us. In Europe, in the 21st century, it is better to find a political solution to a political problem than to hide behind legal arguments and threats. We want dialogue with Madrid; we are ready for a discussion without preconditions or artificial limits.

Let us be clear. Catalans have been European since the beginning of our history and we want to remain in the European Union. Yet we have been told that an independent Catalonia will be kept out of the EU "for ever". Does this mean that Spain will go to the European council, inform the other 27 EU member states that Catalonia is independent, and propose that the EU must therefore expel Catalonia? Given the longstanding and close economic, cultural and personal links between our country and the rest of Europe, is it really credible to believe that the other 27 EU member states will prefer to expel Catalonia than to keep us? Some EU leaders, who rely on co-operation with Madrid for their day-to-day work, will say what they must say; but other experts take a different view. We believe that a pragmatic solution for Catalonia to remain in the EU, which satisfies everyone, can and will be found when the time comes.

Madrid's rejection of our request to hold a referendum is not the end, but just the next step along the legal, democratic and peaceful road to let Catalonia's people exercise our rights and vote on our own future.